After Death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, a Star of a Hit TV Series Opens Up About His Own Drug Problems

With the sudden death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman due to an apparent drug overdose over the weekend, another actor, Shawn Pyfrom, who had a long run on the ABC series "Desperate Housewives," has opened up about his own struggles with substance abuse.

Pyfrom wrote on his Tumblr account, "I am an alcoholic and a drug addict," adding that he "had to write this open letter" after he heard about Hoffman’s death, News.com.au reports.

Pyfrom played Andrew Van De Kamp, the drug-addicted son of Marcia Cross’s character Bree Van De Kamp, on the ABC series for eight years, until the show ended its run in 2012. He said he has been sober for five months, and decided to open up in the hope it will help other addicts get clean.

"Anytime a person uses drugs, they are taking the chance that their life will be taken from them," he wrote. He said he does not want to be a "preacher of sobriety," nor does he wish to judge those who are struggling with substance issues. His hope, he wrote, is to "encourage someone to hold on to their life."

He wrote: "I am an addict. And I’ve never been more proud, saying it. Because when I think about where I’ve been and where I am now … I am proud of the man who has addressed and admitted to himself what was once a clouded denial.

"I have no judgments … only compassion for those who currently struggle with their addictions."

The report notes: "Indeed, high-profile deaths have a way of inspiring others to get healthy. Eminem said the death of Heath Ledger helped him get off pills, and Robin Williams famously called the speedball death of John Belushi a ‘wake-up call’ that sent him to rehab."